Elastic tire for wheels.



No. 852,002. PATENTED APR. so, 1907. W. B. SMITH.

ELASTIC TIRE FOR WHEELS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 8,1906.

i A IV MM W wazesses: y

fimTED STPATENT orrron.

SMITH, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNQR or ONE-HALF TO HERBERT HEWITT, or BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

[ELASTIC TIRE FOR WHEELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

iatented A ril 30, 1907.

Application filed May 8.1906. Serial 315,804.

Tea/ll 'whomi it mayv concern.-

Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of. New. York, have invented certain new and.

useful Improvements in Elastic Tires for Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to so-called solid elastic tires, which are devoid of permanent internal openings or air spaces.

The invention consists in a tire comprising a resilient bod which normally resembles the ordinary so id tire body in its continuity or absence of internal air spaces, but is in 15.

ternally subdivided by longitudinal slits, the sides of which are normally closed by the resilience of the body, said slits increasing'the resilience of the tread portion by subdividing an annular portion of it into annular elastic legs, which connect the tread portion with the base portion seated on the wheelrim, said le s being adapted to be independently flexed aterally by compressive pressure exerted on thetread. I

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specificatiom-Figure 1 represents a perspective sectional View, showing a tire embodying my invention, as it appears when not under compression. Fig. 2 represents a similar view, showing the tire under com ression.

T e same reference characters indicate the same parts in both the figures.

In the drawings,-a re resents an elastic tire, which composed 0' a body of vulcanized rubber pr other suitable elastic material, having an inner surface 2 adapted to be seated on a wheel-rim, and'an outer tread surface 3. The tire may have any desired form in cross-sectio'na i In carrying out my invention, 1 form one or more, and preferably three, narrow slits b in. the body of the tire, said slits extending longitudinally entirely around the tire, be-

be formed b tween the outer and inner surfaces thereof, and being arranged edgewise to the tread surface. When the tire is not under compression, the'sides of the slitsare forced together, by the resilience of the body of the tire, as indicated in Fig. 1. When the tire is undercom ression, the'sides of the slits separate, as s ownin Fig. 2. The slits may in the unvulcanembedding,

ized materi of the tire, flattened tubes oi bushings b faced externally with a material which will unite with the material of the tire by vulcanization, 'and faced internally with a material which is non-adhesive and will not vulcanize. The said bushings are flattened when incorporated in the tire, and in the completed tire their inner sides are adapted to be se 'arated.

It wil be seen that the slits subdivide an annular portion of the tire between the dotted lines. 44 and 55 into annular legs 0, which are adapted to be flexed independently by compressive pressure applied to the tread, as shown in Fig. 2, so that the said portion oflers. less resistance to compressive pressure applied to the tread than would be the .case i the slits. b were not provided. The slits being normally closed, do not involve any substantial decrease of the amount of elastic material (usually termed rubber) within a given area, so that the bulk of the tire does not have to be increased to compensate for permanently open air chambers, substan tially the entire cross sectional area of the tire being occupied by the resilient material thereof.

The described tire may-be secured to a Wheel-rim e by any suitable means. I have here shown the tire provided at its edges with inwardly-projecting flan es ff, which may be reinforced by layers f of canvas or other suitable material incorporated in the flanges, and secured thereto by vulcanization. The'flanges f f enter recesses g g,

formed for their receptionin the wheel-rim e, and are perforated to receive attaching bolts h, which pass through the said flanges, the intermediate portion of the wheel-rim,

and external annular clamping-plates 't secured by the bolts h and bearing on the outer sides of the flanglesf. The said plates 71 are rovided wit inwardly-projecting flanges a, which bear on the inner surface of the wheel-rim, and relieve the bolts of a considerable part of any strain tendin to force the tire and flan es outwardly. The plates i are thus detac ably secured by the bolts h, their inner sides being incline and overhangin the correspondingly inclined outer sides 0 theflanges f and the inner portions of the sides of the body of'the tire.

I claim:

An elastic tire comprisin a resilient body of vulcanized rubber, and attened non-me esepee tellic flexible bushings having internal surseparable end constituting the sides of slits faces of unvulcenizable' or non-adhesive iuthe said bcdy. IO

materiel embedded in said body, and nor- In testimony "whereof I have a'fiixed my mally closed or pressed together by the resignature in presence of two Witnesses. silience of the body, so that substantially 7 WILLIAM B. SMITH.

the entire cross sectionei area of the body is Witnesses:

occupied by the resilient materiel thereof, (1. F. BROWN,

the-flattened sides of'said bushings being I E. BATCHELDER. 

